Health raiser: Kelly Albanese Scherer

“I teach once a week and love sharing my enthusiasm for yoga with anyone and everyone.”

Music fan: She enjoys attending concerts; most recently, she caught The Toadies at Irving Plaza in Manhattan.

Kelly Albanese Scherer began her career in public relations for a professional association. At a conference, she heard a university professor speak about the similarities between careers in public relations and fundraising.

“For the first time, fundraising entered my mind as a profession – I had never considered it before,” she said, noting she was looking to make a change.

She obtained a position with CCS, a global fundraising and nonprofit management consulting firm with offices in Manhattan. She directed capital campaigns and fundraising initiatives for a wide range of nonprofit organizations, including healthcare organizations, and ultimately was named assistant vice president of marketing communications.

Recently, Scherer accepted the role of executive director of the Good Samaritan Hospital Foundation, which supports Good Samaritan Hospital Medical Center in West Islip.

“Healthcare philanthropy is my passion,” she said. “It was my favorite type of consulting work with CCS, and I was a candy striper in high school and worked in doctor’s offices throughout college. I find it very gratifying to be able to do something that will help improve healthcare for members of the community.”

After her tenure in consulting, Scherer is happy to be focusing on one organization.

“When consulting, you come in at various stages of an organization’s development,” she said. “You may be asked to study the feasibility of a large capital campaign or to build a major gift program. You’re never in one place for very long, and it’s sad to part at the end of the engagement; you don’t get to see the building you raised money for being built.”

To be an effective fundraiser, it’s important “to be a people person,” Scherer added. “You work with many volunteers and community leaders, and you have to be an active listener. I view myself as a matchmaker – my goal is to match the interests of donors with the needs of the hospital.”